I’ll be writing reviews of the places we get to on our Summer of Awesome list over at Kids in the Capital.
The first one, on AMC Movie Tuesdays, is up now. Enjoy!
Fight for Your Right to BOLO
Just two days left until Blog Out Loud! It’s this Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Irene’s Pub. If you’re in the Ottawa area, come on out. I’d love to meet you in person or see you again. If we haven’t met before, you can see my photo on my About Page. Come over and say hi!
I was going to include a cute anecdote here about how I went shopping last spring for a dress for a wedding with FameThrowa, and instead I found a wedding-unsuitable but so-cute sundress that fit like it had been made for me and was only $30. So I had to buy it, of course, and FameThrowa said at the time, “I’m sure you’ll get lots of use out of it,” and I have never worn it, not even once. So baring any crazy weather patterns this week, I plan to wear it to BOLO, which is very exciting.
But instead, I am forced to include a sad anecdote about how my right eye has been feeling kind of weird and burning these past couple of days, and this morning I woke up with a full-fledged eye infection. Eye swollen shut, goop oozing out, the whole bit. So now I have to go to BOLO and instead of making a smash with my dress, I’ll be answering questions about why I look like a half-dead zombie and whether or not I like to eat brains.
Do you think it would be too weird if I just wore sunglasses all evening?
Legendary.
This week’s dance show was fantastic. Loved it! Let’s rank!
1. Alex. Returning triumphantly to the number one spot, Alex RULES. He is the master of the house. King of all dance. His hip-hop with Twitch this week was legend… wait for it… DARY. I could not stop squealing with joy the whole time it was playing. I watched it a second time immediately afterwards. CRAZY good. There’s no question that Tabitha and Napoleon and are the absolute best at taking the dancers they have been given and working with their strengths.
Or are they? Do you think NappyTab had the idea for a number with Alex and Twitch a few weeks back, and then the show fixed the so-called “random” pulling from the hat? Or did they really get handed Alex and Twitch, and then come up with a brilliant concept and all the choreography in literally one day? Discuss.
On top of rocking the hip-hop, Alex’s solo was so incredible. It was gorgeous, as expected, but what really impressed me was the way it was so perfectly choreographed to the music. He even managed to incorporate the “so you think you can dance” chant at the end so it felt like a natural, organic part of his number. AMAZING. He is so my favourite right now.
2. Kent. I don’t get Kent at all. His innocent farm-boy thing is wearing thin on me. His solo this week was dazzling, and I loved it, but I didn’t “get” his routine with Allison. I felt no spark from him and it just didn’t seem like anything special – in fact I’d call it one of the weakest of the night. Still, there’s no denying the screaming girls who practically hump the stage every time his name is mentioned (attention, humping teenage girls: you may be humping up the wrong tree. Not for fact, just speculation, for your consideration). They say that reality shows are decided by the 14/40 — 14-year-old girls and their 40-year-old soccer moms — and Kent has that demographic solidly squared away. Blech.
3. Adechike. Oh, how I loved his strut and funk in his hip-hop with Lauren this week. He was just so sparkly. And his solo was lovely. I like him! I admit it! I think he’s great and has real potential, and I predict top four for him.
4. Lauren. Not quite as great as last week, but I was still impressed. I thought the judges were way too harsh on her — I loved her dancing and thought she showed fairly good chemistry with Neil. I really, really dislike choreographer Joey Dowling, and yet, I still thought this piece captured some of the real spirit of a 40s musical. My eyes were on Lauren all the time and she really owned the stage. Her only real weakness this week was her solo, which was a little unfocused, and GOOD GOD, involved the breaking into disco during the “so you think you can dance” ending. HATE THAT. However, she’s still the best girl.
5. Jose. Oh Jose. He was just so bad this week. And yet — I loved his number with Anya. What? Up? First up, I loved the choreography – inventive, interesting, and Dimitri obviously worked hard to fit in some special moves for Jose’s talent specifically, which I admire and respect. Secondly, Jose seemed fully committed this week, unlike last week when he had a whole, “What am I doing up on this stage?” vibe during Bollywood. Thirdly, this was the first time I watched a number with Anya in it where I spent at least as much time, if not more, watching the man. Jose was more than just Anya’s prop-boy, and that means something. Sure, his dancing kind of sucks, but with crowd-pleasing solos and a crowd-pleasing style, I think he’s bound to stick around for a few more weeks yet.
6. Billy. The middle rankings here are kind of hit and miss, but I’m putting Billy up here because mentioning Legacy as his dance inspiration was, well, inspired. Legacy is still quite popular and well-remembered, and he was even in the audience to cheer Billy on, which — well played, Billy, well played. That said, his number this week with Kathryn was forgettable and passionless – he’s no Legacy, see what I did there? – and his solo, while really powerful and impressive, didn’t stand out for me as much as others. So, overall, meh.
7. Robert. Oh Robert, how quickly I have grown tired of your “wacky guy” persona. Your interviews bug and your solo was good but forgettable. On the other hand, your number with Courtney was BANG ON. As Nigel said, not everyone can do Sonya, and you did Sonya proud. Only the fact that you have landed in the bottom three twice already puts you lower than Billy on the rankings list – America seems to have it in for you and even great dancing can’t save you.
8. Ashley. Why, oh why, is Ashley avoiding the bottom three week after week? I just can’t respect America’s voting stupidity and rank her any higher than eighth, because seriously, SHE DESERVES TO BE EIGHTH. She’s had THREE WEEKS now of dancing IN HER OWN STYLE (which: TOTALLY UNFAIR), and yet, I still don’t see what the big deal is. That seems to imply that my opinion of her can only get worse as she moves on (EVENTUALLY) to other styles. What is with the 14-year-old girls? They’ve let me down.
I just thought of something while writing about Jose…who is going to be on tour this year? Usually the top 10 make the tour… so does that mean that all the new dancers from this season will be on tour? Or will only the top 5, with a variety of all-stars? If they are not touring the all-stars, will the tour recreate routines from the season but with only new dancers, or will they create new routines for the new dancers?
Either way, it could make the tour more interesting than usual. Hm.
And in other news, I did think the Melinda put in her best performance this week with Pasha — she really seemed to throw caution to the wind and let herself go, and for the first time I felt I was watching her a) enjoy herself and b) actually be herself, instead of some phony made-up “cool chick and all-around entertainer” personality. So the judges could have been a lot kinder to her, instead of raining all over her parade. Still, it made sense to send her home and I was happy to see justice served. It sure will be interesting if we end up with only six guys on the show — do you think they’ll do more guy-guy numbers with the all-stars, just so we can see them in action?
Interesting. Can’t wait for next week!
Summer of AWESOME
What are you doing this summer? I personally intend to spend a lot of time at the park, lounging around in bed in my jammies, and sipping lemonades beside our 3-foot wading pool. AWESOME.
But sometimes the kids do need to get out of the house a bit, just to avoid killing each other. And there is SO much to do in our city. I’ve been collecting ideas all year and last night I sorted through them all to decide what I really want to do this summer. There was more than enough to fill up every weekend, with scads left over for weekdays, too. I’m not keen on overbooking our summer months so I’m sure we won’t get to them all, but I thought I’d list my ideas here to see if anyone has anything else to add. Let me know what’s good, what’s not, and what I’ve forgotten.
Calypso Water Park – Everyone’s talking about the new water park, and I’ve heard good things about it. We plan to visit in August when Sir Monkeypants has some vacation, so we can hopefully avoid the weekend crush.
Museum of Nature – We loved this museum when it was only half as big… now it’s full of new and exciting things to see. We’ll be buying an annual pass so I’m sure we’ll head here more than once this summer.
Wakefield Steam Train – This has been on my to-do list for a few years now, and finally the time has come because we no longer have a toddler who needs a midday nap. There are plenty of things to do on the train during the ride up and on the way back; the stopover is for a picnic, shopping, and watching the train turn around.
Papanack Zoo – This is another for-sure item. We went last year and the kids just loved it. Get as much information about their feeding schedule as you can in advance, and then you can basically walk around the park with the feeding staff and see each animal up close as they eat. There’s not a lot of shade here, so wear lots of sunscreen and try to pick a cloudy day.
Carp Farmer’s Market – Last year I toured all the farmer’s markets in town and didn’t end up finding one that quite felt like home. The only one I didn’t drag the kids to so far is Carp, and I’ve heard it’s great, so hopes are high. We might leave this one for later in the summer so that there’s a greater choice of produce, although Carp also has crafts, antiques, and plenty of baking stalls to enjoy at any time of the summer.
Biodome in Montreal – This is an easy day trip, but this year we are flirting with the idea of booking a hotel and staying overnight on a Saturday. We are terribly nervous about travelling with the Captain because we never know where we are going to find safe food for him, so we want to kind of push ourselves to try it by going somewhere not far away where we can always just drive home if need be.
Parliament Buildings – My kids love the Parliament Buildings, much to our surprise. They love the tower and the cats and running around on the lawn. This year we hope to catch the Changing of the Guard – last year we tried to go but it turned out the last performance had been the day before. DOH.
RCMP Rockcliffe Stables – I have the Musical Ride on my list every year, but since it runs from 7pm to 9pm, our kids are just a wee bit too young for it yet (plus, it’s over now for this year). I just found out, though, that you can still visit the stables and see the horses and stuff during the day over the summer. The Little Miss is kind of into horses so this is a good possibility.
Saunders Farm – I always think of this as a Halloween destination but in the summer you can play on multiple climbing structures, enjoy several huge mazes, and take a turn on their giant slide. Plus there are hayrides that leave on a regular basis and baked goodies to buy.
Karter’s Korner – My kids love the 4x4s here, plus a round of mini golf is always a hit. This place is pricey but they often have some half price days during the summer so check their website for any deals.
Britannia Beach – We love the beach but I’m always so nervous to take the kids by myself, since they don’t really know how to swim. Britannia has a really nice play/park area set back from the water so we can settle in, play and snack, and then take small, supervised excursions for a little swimming. I’m going to try this one at least once this summer by myself.
AMC Movie Tuesdays – At 10am every Tuesday morning in the summer, you can see a movie at the AMC in Kanata for just $1. We went this week to see Monsters vs. Aliens and it was a great time — jam packed with kids, so no worries if your babies want to cry or walk around or ask VERY LOUD questions. I had the schedule, and now I can’t find it, of course, but I can tell you that we’ll be there for Madagascar on July 6, Madagascar 2 on July 13, Kung Fu Panda on July 27, and the mystery title on August 10 (the last week of the series). These showings get VERY crowded – do not expect to show up at 9:55 and sit anywhere other than the very front row.
Valleyview Little Animal Farm – This place gets mixed reviews from parents but my kids like it well enough, and it’s like, two minutes from my house so we’ll be going there at some point, for sure. There’s a little train ride and a place to play in the sand and mulitple climbers, plus a puppet show and a small petting zoo. It’s a good place for very young children and toddlers.
Splash Pads – There’s a new splash pad opening near us in August so we’ll be checking that out for sure. Find a splash pad near you on the City of Ottawa site.
Chapters – We’ll be visiting the library a whole lot, but the kids like Chapters too, as it has a huge kids area where they can play and ride plasma cars and flip through endless books about Star Wars. It’s a tradition here that I buy the kids a book to celebrate the end of the school year, and we made our trip this week to do that — there was a buy 3, get 1 free sale, so don’t miss it!
Merivale Bowling Lanes – The Little Miss is not that interested in bowling so this one is a bit of a challenge — trying to keep her from wandering off is tough. Still, the older two are into it and quite frankly, so am I, so I’d like to try to work this one in if possible.
Upper Canada Village – I’m iffy on this one. I’ve heard lots of other parents talking about it but it seems too much like a school field trip. Does anyone know what the appeal is? I’ll consider it if it comes highly recommended.
Rideau Canal Festival – Last time we were downtown, we spent a lot of time looking at the locks and trying to explain how they worked, but I think the kids were confused without a visual. During the festival – July 30 to August 2 – plenty of boats will be parading through the locks. There’s other stuff going on, too, but it’s the boats that I definitely want to see.
SuperEX – My parents used to take me and my sisters to the CNE every year, and it remains one of my happiest childhood memories. We’d spent hours in the craft building agonizing over what to buy with our $5, and we’d eat those little doughnuts until we almost burst. Good times. I’ve never been to the SuperEX and I’m sure it’s not quite as great as the CNE, but I’d like to take the kids.
Canada Day – I can’t stand the Hill, so we do Canada Day in Kanata, which is still almost more busy than I can stand. I’m sure we’ll check it out though. And speaking of Canada Day, we started a new tradition last year of breakfast in bed for the kids on this day – they were begging for breakfast in bed and I wanted to assign it to just one day per year. I was actually kind of hoping the kids would forget about it this year, but yesterday Gal Smiley reminded me, so DOH, looks like it’s happening.
Backyard Camping – The kids want to camp, but you all know how I feel about camping. So this year I am setting aside a weekend for camping in the backyard – well within reach of a bathroom, a kitchen, and shelter from rain. AWESOME.
Ray’s Reptiles – The kids really like it there, even though we’ve been dozens of times. I’m sure it’ll be on our rainy day list.
Geocaching – I’d like to try this out this year, I think it sounds interesting and I’m sure the Captain will love it. However, it could be really hard to attempt with the Little Miss in tow — if we have trouble finding the cache, we won’t be able to wander endlessly looking for it, which could be very frustrating for the Captain. So we’ll see — this one might have to wait until next year.
And on top of all this, we’ll be baking, crafting, making comic books, riding bikes, and going for walks in the woods to find acorns and pinecones for FameThrowa’s wedding centerpieces.
Whew! So, how are you spending your summer vacation?
Indoor Shoes
So Friday was the last day of school, and my two older children brought home their indoor shoes, which are the running shoes they wear at school throughout the year. Both kids started out the school year with a brand new pair of shoes.
Friday, Gal Smiley brings home a nice looking pair of runners that her sister will be able to wear when she gets older.
The Captain comes home with these:
Oh my God, the mortification. His teacher must think his parents are dirt poor, or don’t love him, or both. Thank goodness I don’t have to face his teacher again for at least two months. I need at least that long for my face to stop being beet red with embarrassment. GAH!
No wonder he got that B in gym.
I Feel Like Dancing!
I thought this was a pretty weak week on Dance Show. It highlighted for me a problem with the all-stars format, and that’s that the all-stars are WAY better than the new contestants. It’s nothing against this season’s dancers — everyone always sucks in the first three weeks. It’s just that they aren’t given a fair chance to develop before being thrown to the wolves. In almost every single number, the all-star totally outshone the competitor, and that kind of sucks.
In fact, the only number where I thought the newcomer and all-star were evenly matched was Pasha and Cristina’s Paso Doble. LOVED IT. And of course, she went home. AMERICA FAIL.
And apropos of nothing, didn’t Cat ROCK that black leather dress with the zipper on the results show? Mind blowing.
Anyway. Let’s have a look at who’s still standing, shall we?
1. Kent. I seriously underestimated the love for Kent that is out there in my rankings last week. He’s super popular. And I have to admit, I thought he was amazing this week. The judges were hard on him, but I actually bought him in his number with Courtney, and he came the closest (I thought) to actually being a fair match for his all-star (other than Cristina). I like Tyce when he’s doing jazz instead of Broadway, and this was my favourite number of the week.
2. Alex. Alex had a rough time this week with kiss-of-death Broadway, which does not bode well. I kind of expected him to be fabulous at everything. Still, he obviously has the fan base to be able to push through at least a couple of bad performances, so he’s still up near the top. On a side note, I think this was the first time that I ever enjoyed a performance by Lauren. I really dislike her, but she totally rocked the Broadway.
3. Adechike. I was surprised last week at the number of commenters who don’t like Adechike. I think he’s a sweetie. He lucked out by pulling Allison as his partner this week — a good style match for him and also, Allison is quickly becoming the Gold Standard All Star. Their number was beautiful and I loved it and I like Adechike and SO THERE.
4. Lauren. I know! Huge leap forward! She was like a different person this week. She got totally out-danced by Dominic but you could still see her talent, and most importantly, she managed to sell a character. I was as happy as Shankman! If she continues to improve like this, she’ll do amazing — showing growth in a continuous story arc is the key to getting votes on this show.
5. Billy. Okay, I really think the judges were totally unfair to Billy this week. I think they had prepared little quips in advance (witness: “It’s not Billy B. Buck, it’s Billy B. Whack”), and felt like they’d be gypped if the didn’t get to use them. Billy surprised and impressed me. I’m not saying he was good, but he wasn’t terrible. He knew going in that this was not a good style for him, and yet, he was fully committed, stayed in character, and seemed comfortable enough that he wasn’t constantly looking at Comfort to know what to do (unlike, say, Jose, who basically watched Kathryn the whole time). He was as krump as he could be, and maybe even more so. So I was impressed. I think Billy is awesome in his own style, has charmed the audience, and shows potential for that all-important growth. So I can’t count him out just yet. Also, this news just in: Comfort KICKS ASS.
6. Robert. Big surprise for me that he ended up in the bottom three. Of course, he was paired with Anya, who is quickly becoming the Kiss Of Death All Star. She’s just too good and too sexy and too grown-up to be properly led around by the little bitty baby boys they have on the show this season. Heavens, I giggle just imaginging Billy or Jose trying to handle her. GAH. Robert did his best and tried hard, but I barely watched him, I was so drawn to Anya. When I did glance his way, he just could not measure up. I still think he’s great, and with one ballroom number under his belt hopefully he’ll move on to something impressive next week and move back up the ladder. Still can’t imagine him hip-hopping, though.
7. Jose. Dear Lord, Jose was terrible this week. Sir Monkeypants pointed out that this was actually a good style pull for him, because it’s all about high energy, and the judges aren’t able to criticize based on things like toes pointed the wrong way or poor extension or whatever. So the fact that Jose couldn’t even sell us on Bollywood means…not good things. If he ends up in the bottom three next week, he’ll be out for sure, so he better hope America REALLY loves that smile.
8. Ashley. Nigel was so right this week when he pointed out that Travis’ “jazz” routine was too close to being contemporary to showcase anything else Ashley might have to offer. I felt like this number, while interesting and original, was too packed with stuff — it was like, do this move, strike this pose, do this lift, move over here, now jump. Very robotic and sequential and again, I felt nothing from Ashley, although she seemed to be trying. She seems to have a solid fan base but I really, really feel she belongs in the bottom three this week. HEAR ME, AMERICA.
9. Melinda. If only we could marry Ashley’s technical skill with Melinda’s maturity, we’d have our winner. As it is, Melinda’s technique is not good, and it shows. The judges fawned all over her this week for her contemporary routine, but I found her stiff and tentative, and SO outclassed by Ade that it was almost embarrassing. I even think Ashley would have done a better job with this routine, which is not a good thing. We’ll see how she does next week, but she’s clearly destined for the bottom three again, and probably deserves to go home (wow, bottom three of Melinda, Ashley and Jose…who do you pick? Discuss.)
Who do you think are the dream newcomer/all star pairings? I’m starting to think that they stacked the deck last week by matching up each newcomer with their best possible match. For example, I think Alex could not do better than Allison; Jose clearly cannot do better than Comfort. It made for a great show last week but for several dancers, there’s no where to go now but downhill. What do you think?
My ideal pairings are:
Kent – Courtney or maybe Lauren
Alex – Allison or Kathryn
Adechike – Kathryn or Allison
Lauren – Twitch or Neil
Billy – Courtney or Comfort
Robert – Courtney or Allison
Jose – Comfort
Ashley – Mark or Neil
Melinda – Neil (for Broadway style numbers, not contemporary) or Dominic (I know this seems weird. But I really feel that Dom could draw some emotion out of Melinda. I’d love to see them do a head-to-head type hip-hop/jazz battle)
Do you think they will ever let the newcomers dance together? Maybe in the finale or something? I would love to see Lauren dance with Kent, Billy, or Adechike; Ashley dance with Alex or Robert; and Melinda dance with Robert or Kent.
And now I have three kids who are very, very tired of watching their mom type about Dance Show, so I have to dance off now.
Jewels
A few weeks ago I took some florist stones that I had kicking around and threw them in the bag of sand toys. These things:
Little Miss Sunshine just loves them. She calls them her “jewels” and she uses them to decorate her sandcastles, or to sort into piles, or to make roads, or to bury in the sand and then “find” using her sifter.
The interesting thing about the jewels is that they are kind of unusual and pretty and so they draw a big crowd at the park. As soon as the Little Miss opens the little tupperware of jewels, we’re swarmed by every other kid in the park. They all want to touch them and hold them to the light. It’s led to some sharing issues for the Little Miss, but we’re working on that.
Almost every kid who comes to see the jewels tries to steal one (or a whole handful, if they are especially bold). I don’t have much of an issue with this. Usually I’m all irate about unsupervised hooligans at the park, but quite frankly, if I were a four or five year old and I came across a pile of jewels, I know I’d try to take one, too. The really young kids probably don’t see any difference between the Little Miss’ jewels and any other rock, pinecone, or stick they’d find in the sand and get to take home. And the older ones…well, I’ve been there.
When I was nine or ten, my grandfather was working at a charity fundraiser that involved some carnival games. He was at the roulette table (you’d win stuffed animals, it wasn’t like Casablanca or anything) and I’d already lost almost all of my money. I was down to my last quarter and I didn’t want to go home empty handed. I put my quarter on number 25, but I put it at the very edge of the table and covered it with my hand. I thought I was so smart — if 25 came up, I’d reveal my quarter and win, but if not, I’d pull it back and pretend I’d never had it on in the first place.
I am a CRIMINAL MASTERMIND.
So what happens, but number 25 miraculously comes up. And I was all, like, “I won! I won!” My grandfather gave me the most skeptical look and asked me point blank if I’d really had my quarter there. And I sheepishly said yes, because it actually was there, even though it kind of wasn’t. You could see my grandfather kind of going back and forth on the issue but in the end he decided to take my word for it (or at least, avoid a scene) and he gave me a stuffed Mrs. Pac Man.
Let me tell you, I was never able to even look at that Mrs. Pac Man without feeling horrible, like I’d stolen it. I used to keep it in my closet and when the time came for me to get rid of a few stuffed animals it was the first thing out the door. And then, I felt even MORE guilty because I’d conned my grandfather out of the Mrs. Pac Man, then hadn’t even KEPT it. The whole thing was a terrible mess and I never took anything that wasn’t rightfully mine again.
So when I see a kid slipping a jewel into their pocket, or burying it off to the side for later finding, I try to just let it go. A whole handful goes missing, I might gently remind them that the jewels belong to the Little Miss; otherwise, we can afford some attrition and I get it.
Plus, they’ll probably always feel guilty when they look at that jewel on their dresser. A lifetime of guilt is worth much more than a reaming out from a stranger at the park, don’t you think?
Playtime with the Little Miss
How Little Miss Sunshine plays I Spy in the car:
Little Miss: I spy… my window!
Captain: Is it your window?
Little Miss: Yes! I spy… Mommy’s keys!
Captain: Is it those keys over there?
Little Miss: Yes! I spy… my shoes!
Captain: Is it your shoes?
Little Miss: Yes!
How Little Miss Sunshine tells knock-knock jokes:
Little Miss: Knock knock.
Daddy: Who’s there?
Little Miss: Um…table.
Daddy. Table who?
Little Miss: This table right here! Knock knock.
Daddy: Who’s there?
Little Miss; Mommy.
Daddy: Mommy who?
Little Miss: Mommy right here!
SO. CUTE.
Dance! Show!
So, I don’t usually start blogging about Dance! Show! until we hit the top 10…well, maybe the top 12. Or top 14. Whatever.
This season is throwing me off though, so I have to talk it out. First of all, All Stars: good or bad? Discuss.
My own feeling so far is extremely mixed. On one hand, I squealed with excitment to see the likes of Mark and Kathryn back on the stage. On the other hand, don’t you think the thrill of seeing our old favourites is taking away from excitement and investment in the new dancers?
And on one hand, I think having an “expert” at each style in each number will create higher caliber performances, especially in the early weeks (did you SEE Comfort snapping it out? She was so awesome!). On the other hand, I will really miss seeing the chemistry bloom between certain couples that are given the chance to dance together week after week. I used to get so invested in the relationships between the couples — you could just see who had “it’ and who didn’t — and now, with a new partner every week, I think it will be very hit-or-miss as to who is good on any given week. It’ll just be so much harder for the new dancers to showcase their growth and development, and I fear they will constantly live in the shadow of the All Stars.
Hm.
Anyway, this week was our first chance to see it all in action, and it did seem to me that for a first week, the dancing was much better than average, so that’s a plus. Here’s how I’d rank the competing dancers.
1. Alex. Whenever I have an early favourite, one of two things is going to happen: they’re going to get voted off in the first two weeks, or they’re going to win. Since Alex is still around, I’m going to call him for the win. He’s SUCH an amazing dancer, and his number this week with Allison was just incredible. Plus, he seems to have genuinue modesty, charm, and a great back story. He’s the whole package. Can’t wait to see him hip hop – will it be good for a laugh, good for a thrill, or both?
2. Richard. Although he received no coverage at all during Vegas week (when Shankman was telling him he’d made the top 10, I was all, “Who the hell is that guy standing with Billy?”), Richard is a textbook example of how to make your mark on America super fast. He cracked some jokes in his 10-second first week interview that established his persona as “the wacky guy.” He found a touching story for this week so we could identify with his fondness for his father and his childhood dreams coming true. He showed plenty of personality when working with his choreographer (THE CHEESEMAN, LOVE LOVE LOVE), and I think he was the only new dancer who actually out-danced his All Star partner. He’ll go far.
3. Jose. America loves a B-Boy. America loves an untrained dancer who can grow every week, and continue to surprise and impress us. But America only loves a breaker so far. Jose is so cute and talented, but I predict he’ll follow in the footsteps of Legacy, Gev, and Dominic, and only last until the just before the top four. I still put him at number 3, though. I guess I deserved that “C” I got in Grade 4 Math.
4. Adechike. I thought the judges were unfairly harsh on Adechicke this week. His number with Kathryn was great — and some might say that was mostly due to Kathryn, who kind of stole the show. But Adechike was still impressive, and I think he will suprise us in the weeks to come. He seems so fragile, and hurt by the judges’ comments, that I think the voting public will rush to his side and protect him. Could he ride the mothering/sympathy wave all the way to the final? Russell did it last year, so…possibly yes.
5. Lauren. It’s a man’s world this season, and really, all the boys are much better than the girls. I think Lauren is the only one who shows potential, but MAN, does she ever need to learn to dance without a smile plastered on her face. Even an upbeat, happy number should show some range of emotion. I think she’s young, and she needs to grow up very, very fast if she’s going to dance with the big boys this season. Having the likes of Allison and Kathryn on the show is not doing her any favours, either.
6. Kent. I feel like the producers are trying to shove Kent down my throat, and I’m gagging. If we have to hear about his rural town ONE MORE TIME, NIGEL, I’m starting an I-hate-Ohio website. (It is Ohio, isn’t it? Whatever.) Kent himself is cute but so, so young, and his dancing this week with Anya was just awful – I felt kind of ashamed and dirty watching it. I feel like he’s got the goods in his own style, but if he doesn’t pick it up in the other styles, and, like Lauren, grow up really fast, he’s in trouble.
7. Cristina. I quite like Cristina. For some reason, I feel like her personality does not translate well to television – she seems a little ditzy but I don’t think that is really true. She’s got the moves, that’s for sure; she really wants this; and she’s worked really hard to be here. I’m worried about her landing in the bottom three this week – hers was a weaker number, but I didn’t think it was one of the worst three, really. I hope she can really wow us next week and stick around a while.
8. Billy. When Billy did his solo during Vegas week, I thought no one would be able to touch him. And yet, on the show so far I have been completely unimpressed. He is really, really young looking, which works against him — he suffers from Leonardo Di Caprio syndrome. I know I’m going to find it hard to buy him in a heavily dramatic piece – can you imagine him in one of Mia’s numbers, or doing what Alex did this week with his Sonya piece? I’m sure I’m not alone when I say, NO. Billy is a lovely dancer but I’m really not sure if there is anything he can do to succeed on this show — he is who he is, and trying to totally transform himself in just a couple of weeks is going to feel false. He’d really have to dazzle me next week to get any kind of support (and we all know it’s MY word that makes or breaks a dancer on this show!).
9. Melinda. Unlike the other girls, Melinda has the maturity and showmanship to rock it. What she is lacking is the technical skills, and this week, it really showed. Pasha is a strong (and HUNKY) partner, but she just did not have the snap or energy to keep up with him. I agree with the judges that she needs to show more warmth, and she needs to work on connecting with her partner – I’m sure she is more used to alternating tap solos than trying to work directly with another dancer. And, she needs to practice the hell out of every number so she doesn’t look as though she’s thinking so hard.
10. Ashley. I am not a fan of Ashley. We saw nothing of her during Vegas week, and given a very, very small window in which to introduce herself she gives us…funny robot voice. Holy cow, woman. Have you no dreams? No inspirational family? No life goals? No interesting hobbies? No past illnesses to milk? Give us SOMETHING. I see Ashley as being a mere clone of Lauren, only with even less personality. I did not like her number with Neil this week — I thought it was generic, forgettable, and I felt nothing at all from her — and why she did not end up eliminated (not even in the bottom three!) I do not understand.
Also, just let me add how sad I am that Alexie was eliminated. She actually managed to surprise me — she looks so small and slight, but when she dances, she PUNCHES IT. She’s got the snap, I thought she rocked it with Twitch, and I think she could have been great. Plus, more clips of Shankman on Star Search would make me a very, very, very happy woman. Oh my goodness, wasn’t his Blue Steel SO FABULOUS? Shankman, darling, call me!
Good Fences Make Good Gardens
So I caught a cute little brown bunny in our garden a couple of weeks back. The next day, several bean plants were bitten off right to the root.
I don’t mean to accuse, but if that bunny were on CSI, someone would be giving him the Frown Of Moral Superiority right now.
We needed a fence, lest my dreams of living off the land fade away into a bunny’s stomach. Sir Monkeypants was on it.
Not just any fence would do. No simple slapping up of stakes and wire, no sir. No shoving of chicken wire into the ground and hoping for the best, no way. Sir Monkeypants’ fence had to be sturdy, striking fear into the hearts of bunnies everywhere. Sir Monkeypants’ fence had to be bold, marking our territory to all groundhogs and squirrels. Sir Monkeypants’ fence had to be removable, so we could get in there and weed and reap our harvest without having to bend over, seeing as how we are getting dottery.
And lo, after many hours of measuring, professional quality architectural designs, and hand cramps from the staple gun, it was built:
Take that, bunnies.
TurtleHead 